I was 11 when I stopped taking musical lessons. I’d played piano for a few years before realizing it wasn’t my forte. Not long afterward, my ability to memorize classical compositions slowly withered away, my musical knowledge reverting to less than none. Eight years later, this lack of musical understanding came back to haunt me as I sat through a masterclass performance of Baroque dance and music.
Last Friday, in cooperation with the McIntire Department of Music, dancer Paige Whitley-Bauguess held a masterclass performance in Old Cabell. Baroque is a period of artistic style that originated in 17th-century Europe and encompasses notably famous composer Johann Sebastian Bach, whose pieces many students performed throughout the program.
Whitley-Bauguess specializes in Baroque theater dance and incorporated the dance’s history and culture into her performance. Before each piece, she provided background information about the dance and demonstrated basic steps. She even wore period clothing and accessories to coincide with the dance’s origins.
For those unfamiliar with the style of a masterclass, it involves a student-teacher dynamic in which the student performs a piece, receives feedback, and then the piece is repeated. Whitley-Bauguess followed this format — frequently telling students to quicken the speed of a piece or lighten its tempo before dancing alongside their performance during the second go-around.
I found the performance educational, but the arrangement itself can be long and drawn-out for the casual observer. As someone whose musical expertise vanished eight years ago, the program dragged.
This isn’t to imply Whitely-Bauguess gave a detached performance. Her passion for Baroque dance and music was clear throughout the show. The students performed each musical piece with clarity and precision, and many of the performances were entertaining.Whitley-Bauguess’ finale, a comical dance equipped with a facial mask and an elaborate hat, proved an energetic highlight of the event.
On the whole, it was undoubtedly a new experience, but not one that I would see again.
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